Odalasian
Classification and Dialects There are two main dialects: The Mountaineer Odalasian (Én Óldjakanjaz Tjunáladzusj) or MO that represents abou 20%, and The Commom Odalasian (Én Óldjakunjaz Junósj) or CO that represents about 80%. The main differences are: *The MO doesn't have nasal vowels, so when in CO the word "An" is /ãn/, in MO, is /ʔan/(see below). * The MO have the glottal stop /ʔ/ between two vowels that don't become a diphthong, before words the begin with a vowel and after words that end in vowels, when in CO, it's a hiatus or nothing. **So when CO, the word Njia is pronounced /'ɲi.a/ and the word An is pronounced /ãn/, In MO is /ɲi.ʔaʔ/ and /ʔan/ *In MO, the consonants (b, d, f, g, k, p, s, t, v, z, ɟ, d͡z, d͡ʒ, ʃ, c, t͡s, t͡ʃ, ʒ) become respectively (p, t, v, k, b, z, d, f, s, c, t͡s, t͡ʃ, ʒ, ɟ, d͡z, d͡ʒ, ʃ) when they are in the word's end and between a vowel and a consonant: **So, In CO, "Dzadz is pronounced as /d͡zad͡z/ and " Tósjna"is pronounced as /'tɔ<ʃ.na/, In MO, they are pronounced as /d͡zat͡s/ and /'tɔʒna/. *In MO, when in tonics syllable, the vowels are realised as long vowels. Consonants: * /ʔ/ only exists in MO dialect. Vowels: *The contrast between short and long vowels only exists in MO dialect. Phonotactics: Writing System * No words begin with geminated consonants *geminant consonants are written as double letters when they are written using just a letter. So, the letters(b, d, f, g, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, z) that stand for the consonants (b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, z), when geminated are written as (bb, dd, ff,gg, hh, kk, ll, mm, nn, pp, rr, ss, tt, vv, zz) that stand for th econsonants (/b:/, /d:/, /f:/, /g:/, /h:/,/k:/, /l:/, /m:/, /n:/, /p:/, /r:/, /s:/, /t:/, /v:/, /z:/) *geminant consonants are written repeating the first letter when they are written using more than a letter. So the letters (dj, dz, dzj, lj, nj, sj, tj, ts, tsj, zj) that stand for the consonants (ɟ, d͡z, d͡ʒ, ʎ, ɲ, ʃ, c, t͡s, t͡ʃ, ʒ), when geminated are written as (ddj, ddz, ddzj, llj, nnj, ssj, ttj, tts, ttsj, zzj) that stand for the consonants (/ɟ:/, /d͡z:/, /d͡ʒ:/, /ʎ:/, /ɲ:/, /ʃ:/, /c:/ /t͡s:/, /t͡ʃ:/, /ʒ:/) * When the letter "R" is in the beginning and between a vowel and a consonants, it stands for the sound /ɾ/ as in: I.e.: "Ra" is /ɾa/; "Rarn" is /ɾaɾn/. *When the letter "R" is in the final and between vowels, it stands for the sound /r/ as in I.e.: "Ar" is /ar/; "Ara" is /'a.ra/ * /n/ become /ŋ/ when before the consonants /k/ and /g/ * The every vowel but (/ɒ/) become nasalized when before the nasal consonants and depending on the dialect, a /ŋ/ sound could be added after the vowel becoming as the example: I.e.: "an" could become /ã/ or /aŋ/. * The possible diphthongs are : ai, ei, oi, ui, au, eu, iu, ou. Grammar Odalasian grammar, the morphology and syntax of the Odalasian language, is odd to the grammar of most other languages. It is a relatively an Agglutinative-Polysynthetic language. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and articles are highly inflected: there are no genders and two numbers (singular and plural). The case system of the ancestor language, Ulgadzarian, was kept. Verbs are highly inflected: there are three tenses (past, present, future), three moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative), three aspects (perfective, imperfective, and progressive), three voices (active, passive, reflexive), and an inflected infinitive. Most perfect and imperfect tenses are synthetic, totaling 11 conjugational paradigms, while all progressive tenses and passive constructions are periphrastic. There is also an impersonal passive construction, with the agent replaced by an indefinite pronoun. Odalasian is basically an SVO language, although SOV syntax may occur with a few object pronouns, and word order is generally not as rigid as in English. It is a null subject language, with a tendency to drop object pronouns as well, in colloquial varieties.It has three main copular verbs: "Ilnjahi"; "Dzógahi" and "Rutjahi" and are used repectively as: to be (characteristic); to be (state) and to become. It has a number of grammatical features that distinguish it from most other languages, such as a synthetic pluperfect, a future subjunctive tense, the inflected infinitive, and a present perfect with an iterative sense. Sentence structure: *Word classes: Odalasian classifies most of its lexicon into four word classes: verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. These are "open" classes, in the sense that they readily accept new members, by coinage, borrowing, or compounding. Interjections form a smaller open class. There are also several small closed classes, such as pronouns, prepositions, articles, demonstratives, numerals, and conjunctions. Within the four main classes there are many semi-regular mechanisms that can be used to derive new words from existing words, sometimes with change of class; for example, taz ("fast") → tazuz ("very fast"), uljakahi ("to measure") → uljakahidzerug ("measurement"), várté ("horse") → varténahi ("to ride"). Finally, there are several phrase embedding mechanisms that allow arbitrarily complex phrases to behave like nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. *Subject, object and complement: Following the general pattern, the central element of almost any Odalasian clause is a verb, which may directly connect to one, two, or (rarely) three nouns (or noun-like phrases), called the subject, the object (more specifically, the direct object), and the complement (more specifically, the object complement or objective complement). The most frequent order of these elements in Odalasian is subject–verb–object (SVO, as in examples (1) and (2) below), or, when a complement is present, subject–verb–object-complement (SVOC — examples (3) and (4)): (1) {Én Annyia}S {vásj}V {é Jóton'yd}O, "Annyia loves Jóton." (2) {É Rodzunkyilyanu}S {ódzunkusjá}V {é rodzunkyd}O, "The mason has constructed the house." (3) {É Laisjanu}S {tjanigasjá}V {Vartasyd}O {é Tsjourasdzo}C, "The king appointed Vartas (as) a knight." (4) {Vé}S {vórsjá}V {é tsósjyd}O {áz jutnanyéts}C, "S/he found the book a bore." Any of the three noun elements may be omitted if it can be inferred from the context or from other syntactic clues; but many grammatical rules will still apply as if the omitted part were there. A clause will often contain a number of adverbs (or adverbial phrases) that modify the meaning of the verb; they may be inserted between the major components of the clause. Additional nouns can be connected to the verb by means of prepositions; the resulting prepositional phrases have an adverbial function. For example: Vé nyártasjá {dó tsenkudé} é dort {véni} {vártézjá} {é bóldju}, "He carried {without delay} the bag {for her} {from the horse} {to the door}." * Null subject language: Odalasian is a null subject language, i.e., a language whose grammar permits and sometimes mandates the omission of an explicit subject. In Odalasian, the grammatical preson of the subject is generally reflected by the inflection of the verb. Sometimes, though an explicit subject is not necessary to form a grammatically correct sentence, one may be stated in order to emphasize its importance. Some sentences, however, do not allow a subject at all and in some other cases an explicit subject would sound awkward or unnatural: "I'm going home" can be translated either as "Garó rodzunk" or as "An garó redzunk", where An means "I". It's raining" is "Dzógasj hunjyakutrugi", neither of which occurs with an explicit subject. As in other null subject SVO languages, the subject is often postponed, mostly in existential sentences, answers to partial questions and contrast structures: Ádósjkatasjunk vary ehatu jat ("There are many mice here") Tiz ilnyasj vásjá ? Ványá'' an.'' ("Who was it? It was me.") Vé jé gyényesjá tsuhuntsyd, póknya an véyd gyényenyá ("She didn't eat the cake, but I did.") *Types of sentences: Odalasian declarative sentences, as in many languages, are the least marked ones. Imperative sentences use the imperative mood for the second person. For other grammatical persons and for every negative imperative sentence, the subjunctive is used. Yes/no questions have the same structure as declarative sentences, and are marked only by a different tonal pattern (mostly a raised tone near the end of the sentence), represented by a question mark in writing. Wh-questions often start with Tiz ("who"), Touhaz ("what"), Tejz ("which"), Tuz ("where"), Tuzjuz ("where... to"), Tahaz ("when"), Tózjunz ("why"), etc. The interrogative pronouns tiz, touhaz and t''ejz'' can be preceded by any preposition, but in this case touhaz will usually be reduced to Tou. Frequently in oral language, and occasionally in writing, these words are followed by the interrogative device jetez (literally, "is it that"; compare French est-ce que in wh-questions). Wh-questions sometimes occur without wh-moviment, that is, wh-words can remain in situ. In this case, o que and por que are replaced by their stressed parts tóuház and tozjunz. For example: :Touhaz/Tou jetez ta véyd husjá? or Touhaz''/Tou husjá véyd?'' ::"What did she do?" :Vé husjá touhazyd? ::"What did she do?" or, if emphatic, "She did what?" :Tózjunz? ::"Why?" :Górhu ta jetez dzoulad hutsenkasjá? ::"On what day did that happen?" :Dzoula hutsenkasjá górhud ta? ::"On what day did that happen?" In MO, the phrase jetez is more often omitted. *Replying Jé ("no") is the natural negative answer to yes/no questions. As in Latin, positive answers are usually made with the inflected verb of the question in the appropriate person and number. The adverbs ruzja ("already"), tagal ("yet"), and ivelny ("too", "also") are used when one of them appears in the question. Q: Trunkjag é hutsyd? A: Trunkjanyá. / Jé. Q: "Did you like the dog?" A: "Yes.", literally, "I liked." / "No." Q: An jé ylatsanyá jat áz gahoutsyd? A: Á, Ylatsajag! Q: "Didn't I leave here a key?" A: "Yes, you did!" Q: Ruzja vyrájag sukas tsósjyd ? A: Ruzja. / Tagal jé. Q: "Have you already read this book?" A: "Yes", literally, "Already." / "Not yet." The word Á ("yes") may be used for a positive answer, but, if used alone, it may in certain cases sound unnatural or impolite.Á can be used after the verb for emphasis. Emphasis can also result from syntactical processes that are not restricted to answers, such as the addition of adverbs like tótj ("much") or tótjuz ("very much"). It is also acceptable, though sometimes formal, to use yes before the verb of the question, separated by a pause or, in writing, a comma. The use of sim before the verb does not add emphasis, and may on the contrary be less assertive. Q: Trunkjag é hunyéd? A: Trunkjanyá, trunkjanyá! Q: "Did you like the fish?" A:"Yes, I did!"; literally, "I Liked, I liked!" *Articles Odalasian has a definite article and an indefinite one, with different forms according to the number of the noun to which they refer: The (singular): É(n) - Én is used before words that start with vowels The (plural): Ény A(n): Áz Some: Ázy Nouns Nouns have no gender and are inflected for grammatical number(singular or plural). Adjectives and determiners(articles, demonstratives, possessives, and quantifiers) must be inflected to agree with the noun in number and case. Many nouns can take diminutive or augmentative suffixes to express size, endearment, or deprecation. Odalasian does inflect nouns to indicate their grammatical function or case, relying instead on the use of suffixes that have to agree on the vowels' harmony. Personal pronouns, as well, maintain the vestiges of declesion from the ancestor language,Ulgadzarian. *Number Most adjectives and demonstratives, and all articles must be inflected according to the number of the noun they reference Sukas ólógadjasj rodzunkyd huled ("this nice white house") Sukasy ólógadjasjy rodzunkydy huledy ("these nice houses birds") The agreement rules apply also to adjectives used with copulas, e.g. É rodzunk ilnyagós huled ("the house is white") * Diminutives and Augmentatives The Odalasian language makes abundant use of diminutives, which connote small size, endearment or insignificance. Diminutives are very commonly used in informal language. On the other hand, most uses of diminutives are avoided in written and otherwise formal language. The most common diminutive suffix are -(n)uly and -(n)ily, that are just the two possibles forms of the root "ly" adapted to agrre with thevowel harmony, respectively. Words with the stress on the last syllable generally have I.e.: "Rodzunk" becomes "Rodzunkuly" "Várté" becomes "Várténily" Odalasian diminutive endings are often used not only with nouns but also with adjectives. The most common augmentatives are -(n)az or -(n)áz, although there are others. I.e.: "Rodzunk" becomes "Rodzunkaz" "Várté" becomes "Várténáz" *Cases There are 12 cases that are divided in three main classifications: Morphological alignment, Motion/Location/Time and Relation *MORPHOLOGICAL ALIGNMENT: Nouns decline in three morphological alignment: the Nominative, the Accusative and the Instrumental. the Nominative represents the situations which the noun is: the agent,experiencer; subject of a transitive or intransitive verb as in "he pushed the door and it ''' opened." The Accusative represents the situations which the noun is: the patient as in "he pushed the '''door and it opened" The Instrumental represents the situations which the noun is: an instrument, answers question using which thing? as in "I cut the paper "with a scissor" *MOTION/LOCATION/TIME: Nouns decline in six morphological alignment: the Inessive (Location), the Ablative (Motion from), the Elative (Motion from), the Allative (Motion to), the Illative (Motion to) and the Temporal (Time) The Inessive represents the situations which the noun is: inside something as in "inside the house". The Ablative represents the situations which the noun is: it's movemented away from something as in " away from the house" The Elative represents the situations which the noun is: out of something as in "out of the house". The Allative represents the situations which the noun is: movement to (the adjacency of) something as in "to the house". The Illative represents the situations which the noun is: movement into something as in"into a house" The Temporal represents the situations which the noun is: specifying a time as in "at seven o'clock" *RELATION: Nouns decline in three morphological alignment: the Comitative, the Dative and the Genitive: The Comitative represents the situations which the noun is: in company of something as in "She's with me" The Dative represents the situations which the noun is: a direction or recipient as in "to the house" The Genitive represents the situations which the noun is: a relationship, possession as in "House's wall" *Vowel Harmony In the Odalasian language, there are three classes of vowels – front unrounded, back rounded, and neutral (central unrounded), where each front vowel has a back vowel pairing. Grammatical endings such as case and derivational endings – but not enclitics – have only archiphonemic vowels Á,O,Ó,U are realized as back o, ɔ, u, front A, E, É, I e, ɛ, i, each having a pair: A-Á; E-O; É-Ó; I-U, and also, there is a neutral vowel, that is Y and is realized as a schwa sound. From vowel harmony it follows that the initial syllable of each single (non-compound) word controls the frontness or backness of the entire word. Non-initially, the neutral vowel is transparent to and unaffected by vowel harmony. In the initial syllable: *Declension: The noun are inflected by number and case and the vowel harmony plays a huge role in it: *The Nominative plural only uses the "k" when the original noun finishes in a vowel like: Várté(sing) - Várté'k'''y(plural). *The Acussative's "y" is only used when the original noun finishes in a consonant like: "Rodzunk'y'd" and "Rodzunk'y'dy". Adjectives Adjectives normally follow the nouns that they modify, and follow a certain order (ADJ NOUN); the reverse order Adjectives are routinely inflected for case and number, according to a few basic patterns,just like those for nouns. A Noun who has a number x, a case x, and other suffix(es) should have an adjective with the very same number, case and other suffix(es) *Comparision: Presonal pronouns and possesives: Syntax Lexicon Example text Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 1: '''Sjáry ény paddzéry ilnyatjuk intsungahivizy vórátuky ka gudzólónyaly yltsádzosónlugo ka jalélakogey.' Véky ilnyatjuk sjakkalahivizy hudzánájlá ka dzunólotslá ka fogjajukata mohani dudju várugádju áz jugánygo vinkpajgrénéiz. English translation: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Gloss: all(plu) the(plu) person(plu) to be(3ºperson plural;present;indicative;active voice;perfective) to be born (plu,past participle) free(plu) and equal(plu) dignity(INE) and right(plu,INE). they to be(3ºperson plural;present;indicative;active voice;perfective) to endow(plu,past participle) reason(COM) and conscience(COM) and to must(3ºperson plural;future;indicative;active voice;perfective) to act one(ALL) other(ALL) a(sing) spirit(INE) brother+hood(GEN). IPA transcription: The Common Dialect: /'ʃɒrə 'ɛ̃ɲ padz'dzɛrə il'ɲacuk ĩn'tsũŋahivizə vɔrɒtukə 'kagudzɔlɔ̃ɲaʎ əltsɒdzosɔ̃nlugo'ka ja'lɛlakogej:ə/ /'vɛkə il'ɲacuk ʃak:a'lahivizə hu'dzɒnɒjlɒ 'ka dzũ'nɔlotsla'ka fogja'jukata mo'hãni'duɟu vɒru'gɒɟu ɒz ju'gɒɲəgo vĩŋk'pajgrɛ̃nɛjz/ The Mountaineer Dialect: /'ʃɒ:rəʔ 'ʔɛ:ɲ pats'dzɛ:rəʔ ʔil'ɲa:cuk ʔin'tsu:ŋahivizəʔ vɔrɒ:tukəʔ 'ka:gudzɔlɔɲaʎ ʔəltsɒ:dzosɔnlugoʔ'ka:ʔ ja'lɛ:lakogej:əʔ/ /'vɛ:kə ʔil'ɲa:cuk ʃak:a'la:hivizəʔ hu'dzɒ:nɒjlɒʔ 'ka:ʔ dzu'nɔ:lodzlaʔ'ka:ʔ fogja'ju:kataʔ mo'ha:niʔ'du:ɟuʔ vɒru'gɒ:ɟuʔ 'ʔɒ:z ju'gɒ:ɲəgoʔ viŋk'pa:jgrɛnɛjz/ Category:Languages